WBI Founders

Our 20 Year Record

From June 1997 until the present, the Namies have led the first and only U.S. organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying that combines help for individuals via our websites & over 12,000 consultations, telephone coaching, conducting & popularizing scientific research, authoring books, producing education DVDs, leading training for professionals-unions-employers, coordinating national legislative advocacy, and providing consulting solutions for organizations.

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Archive for the ‘Broadcasts: Video, TV, radio, webinars’ Category

Burger King and Nobully.org, an organization focused on stopping school bullying, produced a clever test. Which was more likely to compel engagement by Burger King restaurant adult customers — the public bullying of a high schooler by peers or “bullying” a sandwich? Spoiler alert: smashing the sandwich led to complaints 95% of the time, while only 12% of witnesses intervened. Watch until the end to see the care shown by the few who assisted the bullied boy.

A brash owner of a small marketing firm in Manchester, Connecticut is making news by describing his hiring interview strategy. Unapologetic about being comfortable leveling applicants with personal questions not related to performance — thus demonstrating his loathing of “political correctness” — he gives what he calls the “snowflake test.”

“A snowflake is somebody who is going to whine and complain and come to the table with nothing but an entitled attitude and an inability to back their perspective,” Kyle Reyes, owner of Silent Parner Marketing, told the Fox Business Network. “Snowflake is a mentality.”

“Snowflakes” don’t get hired. The company says this on its About Us page: “Political correctness be damned. We are who we are and have what we have because of a greater good. We might call that greater good by different names…but faith is an integral part of who we are.”

Using Reyes’ reasoning, victims of sexual harassment and bullying, who complain, would be “snowflakes.” In other words, he won’t hire anyone who if abused or harassed would complain.

Gee, with a boss like him, wondering what are the odds that something wrong, unlawful or unethical will happen????

There are surely alternative marketing companies in New England to work for. Good luck.

Former best car salesman at Fincher Motors in Houston, Texas, Bradley Jones, is facing his day in Harris County Court next week. If you have forgotten, or never heard, his story, watch the KHOU-TV segment below.

Briefly, Jones worked for Fincher for nearly 9 years and was top performer during his entire time working there. Shortly after the co-owner and general manager, Sam Harless, acquired a taser, Bradley became the target of surprise assaults — at his desk in a glass-walled cubicle in front of customers and other employees and from behind — by two coworkers while Harless filmed the terrorization. In all, there were nearly two dozen attacks. Jones was involuntarily immobilized, unable to protect himself and often fell to the floor banging his head and limbs.

Let me repeat that. Harless and cohorts treated the weapon — originally created for law enforcement as an alternative to deadly force (shooting someone) that when held too long in contact with a person’s body can cause cardiac arrest — as a instrument of humiliation for their own sadistic entertainment.

The TV show Inside Edition recently interviewed Bradley on the eve of his day in court at which it is hoped that Harless takes an oath and has to defend his cruel misconduct. The segment airs on Friday night Feb. 5. As they say, check local listings for air-time.

By the way, it was Bradley, the best salesman at the auto dealership, who was fired after his repeated tasings. Go figure.

Julian Troiano and Tayo Jacob, from Toronto, wrote a lovely song with rich vocal harmonies that evoke a profound spiritual experience. Only veteran bullied targets know the pain they are made to involuntarily bear. It is captured in this song.

On October 19, 2015, during WBI Freedom from Workplace Bullies Week, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz approved a new policy to combat bullying in the workplace. The policy aims to ensure that city employees are respected and treated with dignity while at work.

Berkowitz said that Anchorage does not have a significant bullying problem in work areas, but the issue does come up on rare occasions. He said the idea was first brought to him by city employees to propose a policy prohibiting all verbal abuse, humiliation or threatening behavior in the municipality’s workplaces.

The new policy went into effect Oct. 19. It is an expansion of existing anti-discrimination policies that comply with state and federal laws. The policy fails to address thorough procedures to ensure fair and credible resolution of reported incidents. However, it’s a start.

WBI congratulates Anchorage for taking this humane step to provide additional protections for City employees.

On Jan. 29, 2015, WBI Associate and Business Development Mgr. Frank Mulcahy previewed his upcoming presentation at the Lubbock, TX Chamber of Commerce meeting. Jim Douglass and Curtis Parrish, hosts of the show West Texas Today on AM 950/FM 100.7 (KJTV) get a primer on workplace bullying.

Click on the audio player below to listen.

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In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. George Orwell

There’s a level of refreshing level of candor about Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, from two ESPN employees — Keith Olbermann and Bill Simmons — rarely spoken today in mainstream media (and ESPN is certainly mainstream). It’s all the more remarkable when you learn that ESPN pays the NFL $15 billion to televise Monday Night Football. So, ESPN critics could be seen as biting the hand that feeds them, but these two pundits show tremendous courage in calling out the NFL mismanagement of its current domestic violence crisis.

Bill Simmons is the writer who started Grantland (an ESPN Internet Venture) and has been an ESPN superstar. For his calling Goodell a liar, he earned a 3 week suspension. The Simmons B.S. Podcast from which the audio came was pulled from the Grantland website by ESPN. Here is the audio that got him into trouble.

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Also brave were ESPN writers, Don Van Natta, Jr. and Keith Van Valkenburg, who wrote an extraordinary investigativeOutside the Lines article that revealed that Goodell and the Baltimore Ravens ownership colluded with Ray Rice’s attorney to cover up his domestic violence incident. Then, both Goodell and Ravens owner, Steve Bisciotti, lied about their knowledge of it. Very Nixonian of the NFL.

The OTL article title

Despite ESPN silencing Simmons and reportedly wordsmithing the OTL article with some deletions, many critics on the network are jabbing the NFL. Critics are the only ones who can hold institutions accountable.

Why do we not see the same drive to be candid from the Washington DC beltway political pundits? Their relationships with the “newsmakers” is way too cozy. Reporter would rather ingratiate themselves with the people they are paid to hold accountable. Kissing up and comfort prevent truthtelling. The result — America is in a new war while still fighting the old one with public support.

After all …

All governments are run by liars and nothing they say should be believed. I.F. Stone